Healthy No-Flour Date, Seed & Nut Brownies, wholesome, too delicious, so satisfying… a healthy, no bake, guilt free treat that has me smitten. Dessert for breakfast or breakfast for dessert, I am so pleased with how good these are. Handy snacks to have on hand if you’re feeling peckish, these hit the right spot, are oddly satisfying, very portable, surprisingly filling, AND make for a great gift! After all, who doesn’t love a good brownie!
Looking to up gut friendly foods? Come join me …
I’m currently in a transitionary phase where I’m keen to further explore gut friendly ingredients like hemp hearts, nutritional yeast, sprouts, dates, buckwheat groats, peanut butter, whole grains, white beans, nuts and seed mixes with renewed ferocity each day. While I’ve used these ingredients for long individually, I’m eternally charmed at how deliciously they compliment each other, how easily they lend flavour collectively when combined, how simple it is to put together and enjoy healthier, more wholesome food, sweet & savoury both!
Thanks to the wave of gut friendly viral recipes on social media and my last few visits to the UK, my passion has been reignited for newer culinary experiences, offbeat recipes, never-ending experiments. Travel always makes me think out of the box, consider ingredients differently. This white bean hummus below is one such finger licking good savoury result while buying tins of cannellini beans for my better half in the UK, trying to help him get more fibre and protein in manageable ways. I’ll share that recipe very soon.
The Healthy No-Flour Date, Seed & Nut Brownies are yet another outcome of one such experiment and I thought they turned out quite delicious, so satisfying and quite balanced. While each square is a generous portion, so filling, I also chopped them into littler bite sized bits and they were as nice and so fun to pop into my mouth as a treat. Fibre & protein rich, it’s easy to understand why recipes like these are so popular.
My favourite ingredients include …
While Mejdool dates are the gold standard for most date recipes I see online, they are still quite expensive here. I use the more reasonable Kimia Dates on a suggestion from a friend when we were sourcing ingredients for a shoot. They are moist, sweet and quite delicious, and they do the job wonderfully well! adding to the magic of these no bake brownies is smooth peanut butter which is quite the best thing ever, dangerously addictive too. I have jars of a 100% roasted smooth peanut butter in the pantry at all times and they’re a boon to have on hand. Think breakfastgranola / parfaits, think mousses, think cookies, think cheesecake, think fillings and frostings, think salad dressings, think marinades … peanut butter is such a great base!
Experimenting with dates, peanut butter and seed mixes in no particular order!
My first experiment with date and PB recipes last year was making the viral date bark with flattened dates, pistachios, peanut butter and dark couverture chocolate. Those bites turned out delicious and convinced me of the immense possibilities of a handful of ingredients like so. From there on, I’ve been experimenting often. These Healthy No-Flour Date, Seed & Nut Brownies began as energy balls that deliciously metamorphized into no flour, no bake brownies.
The addition of cocoa powder and maple syrup or honey added the required depth and sweetness I was looking for, the topping of chocolate with peanut butter offering the perfect mouthfeel to something so special. Of course adding the seed mix just makes these treats so much more valuable in food terms, making them fibre & protein rich, gut friendly, adding to a variety of plant foods much in line with my seedy fascination!
I do feel things like this lead me into a slightly obsessive behaviour pattern where I feel the incessant need to add this tasty seed mix to just about anything and everything, yet I’m certainly not complaining. It’s definitely a good thing and I’m having a whole lot of fun with it. Do give these a shot and tell me what you think. A note to consider. Add dates carry different sweetness and moisture. Play around with the number of dates till you get a nice squishy cohesive dough that’ll get firmer as it chills. Enjoy!
Healthy No-Flour Date, Seed & Nut Brownies, wholesome, too delicious, so satisfying… a healthy, no bake, guilt free treat. Handy to have on hand if you're feeling peckish, they hit the right spot, are oddly satisfying, portable, surprisingly filling, AND make for a great gift!
Healthy No-Flour Small Batch Date, Seed & Nut Brownies
Lightly toast all the nuts and seeds on the stove top over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Don’t leave unattended as they can burn really quick. Cool slightly.
Reserve a tbsp of seeds to top the brownies.
Blend the dates and nut-seed mix in a hand blender until it comes together in a cohesive dough. Add a few dates if the mixture doesn't come together easily. It should be a sticky dough.
Divide and press compactly/firmly into a 6 or 8 cavity silicon mold with either a spoon or offset spatula. Top with the chocolate peanut butter topping.
Scatter toasted seeds over while the topping is still soft.
Place the mold in the freezer for about an hour / until firm. Demold and store in an airtight box in the fridge.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Topping
Place the chocolate and peanut butter in a heatproof bowl and either melt over a double boiler or in the microwave 30 seconds at a time. Stir often until melted. Stir in the maple syrup / honey.
Notes
The dates should be soft. Kimia dates normally are since they have more moistness as compared to other dates. If not, soak them in hot water for 10-15 minutes, strain and use.
If you don’t have a silicon mold, press the mixture into a 6″ square foil lined baking tin and place in the freezer. Leave an overhang to lift out the brownies once firm, then cut into equal sized pieces with a sharp knife.
Keyword brownie, chocolate, dates, dessert, eggfree, eggless, gluten free, no bake, no eggs, peanut butter, simple, sweet, vegan, vegetarian
Your one stop for simple, stunning, colourful delicious desserts, bakes and recipes that are eggless, use natural ingredients, are mostly seasonal, can go easily vegan and loads of gut friendly options.
